


Marriage

by TsukiKabanoki



Series: Ten and Rose elope and Eleven never marries River, but it's still canon-compliant. [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Emotional Roller Coaster, Episode: s02e09 The Satan Pit, Established Relationship, F/M, First Time, Fluff, Gallifrey (mentioned), Marriage Proposal, Mostly fluff though, Pillow Talk, Post-Episode: s02e09 The Satan Pit, Talking, Weddings, a tiny bit of angst, because apparently I can't write anything without it, the Doctor talks about Gallifreyan culture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 13:29:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17509493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TsukiKabanoki/pseuds/TsukiKabanoki
Summary: After the events of The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit, the Doctor and Rose fall into bed together and start talking about marriage. And maybe talking about it isn't enough.





	1. Affections

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I just noticed that the first chapter conflicts with "Fear Her".  
> In that, the Doctor says he used to be a father, which surprises Rose (if my story happened, it wouldn't).  
> Rose also says that she doesn't particularly like children, which I changed. Partly because I imagine Rose to be someone who'd like to have children/siblings, and partly because I adore my younger cousins and really want children someday, so yeah.

Rose entered the Tardis and her eyes met the Doctor's. They ran into each other's arms and he lifted Rose into the air, swaying from side to side. They buried their faces in the other's neck, relieved to see their (friend? beloved? lover?) soulmate alive and well. After a quick and definitely necessary snog, they got the Doctor out of the space suit and called the ship.

"Zach? We'll be off, now. Have a good trip home," the Doctor called.

"And the next time you get curious about something ... Oh, what's the point. You'll just go _blundering_ in. The human race." He smiled at Rose next to him and she grinned back.

"But Doctor, what did you find down there?" Ida wanted to know. "That creature, what was it?"

"I don't know. Never did decipher that writing." He looked up from the Tardis' buttons. "But that's good, day I know everything? Might as well stop."

"What do you think it was, really?" Rose asked, recognizing this particular tone of voice.

He looked down again. "I think we beat it. That's good enough for me. "

Rose reminded him quietly, "It said I was going to die in battle."

The Doctor had long since learned to listen to things like this, nothing happened without a reason in the universe, everything knitted together by time lines that powerful beings were able to read. So the Doctor did the only right thing, something he had only done once before: He didn't tell her the truth: "Then it _lied_."

She smiled at him weakly, not convinced. Of course she knew when he was faking, of course she did.

"Right, onwards, upwards. Ida? See you again, maybe."

"I hope so."

"And thanks, boys!" Rose added.

"Hang on though, Doctor," Ida stopped them, "you never really said. You two, who are you?"

The pair grinned at each other. "Oh, the stuff of legend."

He pushed the lever.

 

Once in the Vortex, Rose immediately cuddled into the Doctor's side, which he then turned into another bone-crushing hug.

He kissed her head. "I love you."

And although the day had ended on such a high note, this phrase, this promise, had her in tears.

"They told me you were dead, I told them that it wasn't true, but for a moment ..." She let out a sob.

The Doctor soothed her. "It's alright, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, I'm not leaving. Not leaving you."

"I'm not either." She looked up at him and saw the slight shock in his eyes. "Doctor, not ever. I'm never going ta leave you."

"Rose," he protested weakly.

"No, Doctor, I love you. And I'm goin'a be here as long as possible. I love you, you daft alien."

The kiss started out softly. Lips on lips, worshipping each other. But when Rose gasped and the Doctor took advantage of that, it turned heated. Soon, they were grasping at each other like they were drowning and stumbling through the corridors as if drunk.

 

Later that night, when they were laying in bed, clothes all across Rose's room, _their_ room, the Doctor said, "You know, on ... Gallifrey ... this was frowned upon."

She lifted her head off his chest to look at him. "What, shaggin'?"

His face turned a deep red. "I would prefer 'making love', but yes."

"So before today, I mean you said you danced, but ..."

"No, yes, I mean ... I did, before today, have sex, that is. I just ..." He sighed. "It just popped into my head, that it was forbidden, back home. Well, not entirely, like I said, frowned upon, any kind of affections. But sex was forbidden for unbonded couples."

"Unbonded?" Rose asked.

"Unmarried. _Well_ , a bit different customs, but it's still marriage."

"So like the middle ages, yeah?"

He snorted. "Yeah."

"You said 'different customs'. What were they?"

"There were two types of marriages, really. One was, well, like you said, middle ages. It was all political. Weddings weren't really celebrated like on earth, it just ... happened and everyone got on with their lives. But the general concept was the same. Both parents of both parties are supposed to be there, to give their children away, similar to a Christian wedding, yeah? And then you perform a hand-fastening ceremony. Buddhists do it similarly. You bind your hands together with a special cloth and then speak your vows. And then, well, and then you tell the other person your name."

"You've been married before." It wasn't a question.

He met her eyes. "Yes."

"You told me you were a father once too." She noticed the Doctor stiffening under her and immediately wanted to backtrack. "You don't have to te-"

"A grandfather, actually," he surprised her.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Had a daughter, very much like her mother, very unlike me, we were never particularly close." He trailed off, then said, "Not that that was a thing on Gallifrey, close family relationships, but even for Timelord standard, we were not ... well, I loved her of course, she was my daughter, after all, but ... yeah. And she had twins. Like mother like son, one of them was more stuck up like the rest of Gallifrey, but Susan, my granddaughter," he smiled, "she was brilliant, curious and a bit eccentric, and we really got along. And one day we had an idea. We stole a Tardis and just ran away, off to see the universe."  
It seemed like he had desperately wanted to get that off his chest.

"She sounds great."

"She was."

"When I was younger, I always wondered if I would have had a sibling if Dad hadn't died."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, because my mate Shareen, she had an older brother and they just got along _so_ well. And I like kids, always have, and I thought I would be this really cool older sister."

"I think you would have been." An image formed in the Doctor's head: Rose with a young brown haired boy, but decidedly not as an older sister. He forced the image down as quickly as he could.

"Was she nice, your wife?" Rose asked him.

The Doctor didn't hear any jealousy in her voice. "Yes, she was, but ... like I said, my people didn't marry out of love. They were so appalled by affection that they even found a way to not have to reproduce sexually and practically never ... married the other way."

"What was that, then?"

"It practically never happened. It's ... intimate. It was called bonding. A merging of the minds, no real privacy anymore. It makes you able to sense the other person's emotions and when you're touching you can project thoughts to your mate. It's supposed to be beautiful, in theory anyway."

"Why only in theory?"

"Affections. Like, I said, not widely accepted. It came with disadvantages. When your bondmate died, the council would take away your remaining regenerations, a bonded couple wasn't allowed to have children or to get a position in the government or as a teacher."

"What? Why?"

The Doctor shrugged. "To stop people from doing it. Gallyfrey's goal was to always get better, wiser, more advanced. To them, love seemed like a distraction from that."

"But not to you?"

She was smiling at him and he reassured her, "No, not to me."

Rose kissed him fiercely, and needless to say, they didn't make it out of bed for a while.


	2. Are you asking me to marry you?

When Rose woke up, the bed was empty beside her. Every other person would have been offended, but Rose knew her Doctor, knew that he couldn't sit still. So she showered and got dressed before meeting him in the galley.

The breakfast was already made and tea waited for her on the counter. The Doctor sat at the table, reading some kind of scientific book he probably knew by heart. He put it away as she entered and she leaned over the table to kiss him shortly before sitting down across him.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

Rose only hummed in agreement, still half-asleep and currently preoccupied with choosing what to eat.

Normally the Doctor would start rambling right about now, but when he didn't, Rose got suspicious, looked up and found him studying her.

"What?"

He caught himself and looked down at his tea, blushing. "Nothing, nothing, just, dumb thought, don't mind me."

Rose frowned. "You alright? You know you can talk to me, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course, I was just ... it doesn't matter, really, thinking waaay too fast, we only just- you know, but we were talking about it, anyway, doesn't matter, but the last few days you were mentioning it a lot, me too I suppose, and I would appreciate it if you could stop me from talking right about now."

Rose laughed. "I've never seen you so embarrassed, Doctor! What's the matter? I'm not gonna bite your head off if you tell me."

He got very quiet and she got more serious.

"Stop this. Do I have to worry? What happened?"

He didn't say anything for another moment, but then he came clean, "I, well, we've been talking. Uhm, when we were stuck, you were saying we could share a mortgage, a house, carpets and doors, you know. And we practically already do, of course, share a house, I mean, but then we talked about the Timelords yesterday, about bonding and stuff. And I think, I was thinking about, I'm still thinking about, well …”

He stood up and sat down next to Rose, taking her hands into his. “I love you, Rose. I love you how I’ve never loved anyone before you or how I will love anyone after you. And especially after … the war, some days you were, you are, my only reason for living. And when I talk to you about marriage, I can’t help but imagine the two of us. Sometime in the future … would you want that?”

Tears welled up in her eyes. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

The Doctor read the situation wrong, like he so often did. Half of the time Rose’s emotions were an open book to him, the other half of the time he was clueless.

“I’m sorry, I startled you. I know we’ve only been together about two months. I didn’t say, well, I mean, it doesn’t have to be this year or next year or the year after that, if you don’t want to at all that’s fine too, I just …” He took a breath and tugged on his earlobe. “Blimey, I wanted to do this a lot more formally, you know? Like on those shows you love so much. I wanted to get a ring and book a hotel and do something really sappy, yeah? But now I don’t even have a ring to give you. Does this work without one? Or have I offended you? Do people get offended over stuff like this? I’ve never -”

“Doctor!” Rose didn’t mean to shout, but when she did, the Doctor flinched. “Doctor,” she said more softly, “I love your gob like I love everything about you, but for once in your bloody life, please shut up.”

He did.

Rose cupped his cheek. “I love you. I love you so much, you couldn’t believe it. And of course I want to marry you, love. That’s sort of what ‘rest of my life’ means.”

He beamed at her with equally wet eyes.

“I have two conditions, though.”

The Doctor’s eyes widened a bit. “Of course, anything!”

“I wanna do it your way.”

“My way?” he whispered.

“Well, we’re practically never on Earth anyways an’ I’m not religious either. An’ I know Mum would plan this big grand wedding, which I frankly just don’t want.  I mean, I do want rings, so people see who we belong to, but … I don’t need a human wedding.”

“Yeah, no, alright. But … what do you mean, my way?”

“When you told me about bondin' yesterday … is that something you want?”

“Really, Rose?” His voice sounded hoarse. “I’d be  _ inside _ your head. No privacy until you learn to build walls.”

“Yes, Doctor. I have _nothing_ to hide from you. I’ve practically told you everythin’ about me anyway.” And she had.

She had long since told him about her childhood and how her mum struggled to pay for her to be on the gymnastics team. About Jimmy Stone, who was the reason she dropped out of school and who then dropped her. About how Mickey had always been just a best friend to her until one day he wasn’t anymore. About Shareen and other friends who made her run around town with them during lessons. About that one girl she hooked up with and the identity crisis afterwards. About being jealous of Sarah Jane and Reinette, about feeling so hurt.

The Doctor could never tell her everything. Nine hundred years of time and space didn’t fit into a conversation. But she knew about the Time War and the regeneration he desperately tried to forget. About the Master and Daleks and Cybermen and Angels. About many of his previous companions. About leaving Jack behind (which had resulted in their first bigger argument). Since yesterday, about his wife and family on Gallifrey.

“I’d love that,” the Doctor grinned. “I love you. What’s the second one?”

Now it was Rose’s turn to take a deep breath. “I … I don’t want to wait. When I think about what the beast said … This life we live? Let’s be honest with each other, Doctor. I wouldn’t trade it for anythin' in the world, but we don’t know how long I’ve got.”

His smile disappeared from his face. “You’re still thinking about that?”

“Course I am! Someone announces my death like that, I’m bloody listenin’! But, Doctor, that’s the thing, yeah? Maybe we’ll only have two days together or maybe we’ll miraculously have my full eighty years. We don’t know. That’s why I don’t want to wait a year or even just a week.” She searched for understanding in his eyes. “Doctor, love, if you want this, I’m ready. I just need to know if you are.” And she found it.

“Rose, I have two things as well. One, you’re the most brilliant person I’ve ever met. Two, I’m certain I know the best ring smith in the whole universe.”

  
  


After a fairly short trip to a 19th century Xalfilnian smith, where Rose picked two stones looking like a deep blue nebula and the Doctor insisted on rose gold (“You’re a sap, Doctor.” - “Oh yes, but I’m your sap!”), Rose saw that the Tardis had hung her pink 50s dress on their bedroom door.


	3. Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I really took my time writing this. But finally - here it is. The Doctor and Rose get married.

Stepping out of the Tardis, Rose admired the view she was met with.

“We were here before,” she told the Doctor, grinning.

“Yes, we were. Not too long ago, even. It’s where I asked you -”

“... how long I was going to stay with you,” Rose finished for him.

“And you promised me your forever.” The Doctor embraced her from behind, putting his head on her shoulder.

“It’s perfect.”

“You’re perfect.”

Rose giggled. “I think we came here for something else.” She turned in his arms. “Forever, Doctor. That still stands.”

When he bent down to kiss her, Rose put a finger on his lip and said, “I think that’s for the end of the ceremony, yeah?”

The Timelord beamed at his fiancé. “You’re right. How forgetful of me.”

He then took a step back, gave her one end of an embroidered dark blue cloth, cleared his throat, getting more serious, and slowly began wrapping his hand in it. “Rose, when we first met, I didn’t want to live. Not really. But you were so full of light and so perfect. You saved me from the Nestene consciousness, but more importantly, you saved me from myself. And I fell in love with you, hard and fast. You are the most selfless, most beautiful, kindest and bravest person I ever met. But you were young and innocent and I was just a broken soldier, so I ignored it. You had Mickey and Adam and Jack, what would you want with someone like me? But you chose me. You’ve always chosen me and I can’t begin to understand you, Rose, but I love you. And you needed to be stripped of everything that makes you  _ you _ , for me to be brave enough to tell you. And I’m forever sorry that I was a coward, sorry for the time I wasted dancing around our feelings, but I love you with all my hearts, Rose Marion Tyler.”

Rose had to take a few breaths. The Doctor was known for his speeches, so it was no wonder he had her in tears by the time he was finished. Not that his eyes weren’t wet too.

She looked down at the cloth, realizing his hand was now in the middle, so she began wrapping it around her hand in the same way. “Doctor,  _ my _ Doctor,” she started. “I love you. For the first nineteen years of my life nothing happened. But then I met you. And you were rough, yes, but what you failed to see was that you were also kind and funny and the best person I had ever met. And I fell for you. How couldn’t I? But you didn’t seem interested. And then we danced, Doctor, and I thought, okay, maybe he does have a thing for me.” They both chuckled at that. “And then you went and gave a life for me, and what I learned is that it doesn’t matter what face you wear, you’ll always be my Doctor. It doesn’t matter how old you look or if you’re pretty or not or if you’re male or female. You’re my Doctor and I will always love you.”

Their hands met.

The tears were running down their faces and Rose cupped his cheek. She had never seen the Doctor cry like this in all the three years they had been travelling together.

He leaned forward, whispering a string of melodic syllables into her ear. Then he looked her into the eyes again. “That’s my name, Rose. My real name. It’s something only you are ever supposed to know,” he told her softly.

She repeated it quietly, probably butchering his language, but he beamed at her, more tears springing to his eyes.

“I love you,” she said.

“I love you too.”

Rose nodded, blinking away tears. “You may kiss the bride.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. He cupped her face with one hand and made their lips meet. When Rose took a step forward to be closer to him, the Doctor freed their hands from the cloth and let it fall down between them, bringing his other hand to her face. Rose mirrored him subconsciously, then gasped.

Her mind was flooded by something she could only describe as The Doctor, flowing around and into her own mind. She was met with loss and joy, war and peace, inner demons and hope, hate and love, so much love. Love for adventure, for the universe, for every living thing, for his friends, his people, for Rose.

The Doctor, meanwhile, was stunned at the mind entangling with his. Rose’s mind was so full of  kindness, joy and longing for adventure, that it seemed to drown out all her hateful thoughts, worries, doubts and struggles of her past. He couldn’t even begin to comprehend the love that washed over his mind in waves, especially not the love directed to him.

They caught each others lips again, thoughts seemingly synchronized, opening their mouths and exploring each other, with their tongues, with their minds. When the Doctor tugged at the core of her consciousness, Rose did the same, as if she was a natural telepath.

Like crashing through a wall, their minds overlapped and united, sending waves of pleasure from their heads to their fingertips and to their very core, making them both moan and shudder.

The Doctor’s knees gave out under him for a moment, so he had to let go of Rose, as to not pull her into the dirt with him. But she grabbed his arms quickly, preventing him from falling over.

She laughed breathlessly. “Wow, okay. I … wow. Your superior biology obviously wasn’t prepared for this.”

He stuttered, “I … yes. I, I, I guess, it really wasn’t. I … You … I love you so much.”

“I know. I felt it.” She thought it was time to test their bond, so she closed her eyes and tried to project her love and all her good feelings about him to her new husband.

“Oh,” the Doctor exhaled quietly, then took her hand.  _ You’re amazing at this. _

_ Yeah? _

_ Yes. _

_ We’re married. _

The Doctor laughed in her head. _ I noticed. _

_ No, we forgot something. _

_ The rings. _

_ Yeah. _

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out their rings. Rose took his and smiled up at him. He grinned back.

His hands were shaking as he pushed the band onto her finger. Rose felt his nervousness and sheer happiness over their bond, her smile widening.

She looked down at her hand and instantly decided she adored the look of the ring on her hand.

She took the Doctor’s ring. “How long are you going to stay with me?”

Watching her put the band on his finger he promised, “Forever.”


End file.
